Packless back-seating valve



March 30, 1948. c BOYLAN 2,438,776

PACKLESS BACK- SEATING VALVE Filed Jan. 24, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I CON DE NSOR m w M M j INVEN TOR Charles H. Bmflun HTToRuu/s March 30, 1948. c, H, BOYLAN 2,438,776

PACKLESS BACK-SEATING VALVE Filed Jan. 24, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 j' mmvrox. Charles H. Boqlan March 30, 1948. c, BOYLAN 2,438,776

PACKLES S BACK-SEATING VALVE Filed Jan. 24, 1946 u 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 JNVENTOR Charles H. Boq Ian Q /Vmiz I F) TTO RNEMS March 30, 1948.- c, H BOYLAN 2,438,776

PACKLESS BACK-SEATING VALVE Filed Jan. 24, 1946 5Sh6etS-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Charles H. Boqlqn HTTORNE/G March 30, 1948. v c BOYLAN 2,438,776

PACKLESS BACK-SEATING VALVE Filed Jan. 24, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN T 0R.

Charles 'H. Boqlun BY HTTORNEJS Patented Mar. 30, 1948 UNITED- STATES.

2,438,776 PACKLESS-BACK-SEATI'NG VALV Gliarles H; Boylan; Lakewood, Ohio, assignorto" The Weatherhead Company, Cleveland, Ohio; a.

corporation of Ohio Application-January 24, 194$} sensi ive; -64 3;008'- 7 Claims. 1:

This invention relates to a valve; and more particularly it relates to an improvement: in a back-seating valve adapted 'to be used: in. refrigeration and similar apparatus.

Although certain features of the valve of. this invention are not limited to reirigeratingdevices; the functions and utility of the valve will be described in conjunction with a refrigeration system. The usual refrigeration system includes three basic devices connected by'suitable piping and fittings. These are the compressor which compresses'tl'ie gaseous refrigerant, the. condenser. which removes the heat of compression. and liquifies, and the evaporator wherein. the refrigerant expand's'absorbing". heat in thei'process; It has been found'convenient both in manufacture and in the distribution of these units to produce the system inseveral. sections. For example, one section may include the compressor and the condenser connected together; and fittings extending from each for eonnectionwitli the other-section. The other section usuallye comprises the evaporator and 'connecting... piping. Of: course. it is also possibleto provide. three sections so that the compressoncondenser and evaporator are all separate. It has been the-practice to -charge each section with refrigerant separately'and to provide valves which permit chargingto. takeplace and which effect. sealing; of thec'sections" from-the atmosphere aiterwcharging. The-special Valves provided for thisr purpose inthe prior art have been expensive and"complicatedandthey. have required packing arrangementstto: sealthem from leakage. It. is an object of this-invention to-provide a valve which permits the'junitcharge ing referred to above and which is; devoid of expensive packed joints and other external; fit tings; thereby saving in cost. of manufacture and; insuring against leakage of: therefrigerantduring the pro-installation period.

Other objects and advantages of my: invention. will become apparent from. the following;descrip-- tion of preferred forms of this inventiony-refer ence being made to the accompanyingdrawingsi.

Fig. 1 isthe-diagram of a refrigerating-system assembled in two sections and fittediwith'fourr valves made in accordance with one fermof. this invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view ofonea-forms of the valve.

Fig. 3 illustrates the-*movablervalve member employed in the various valves ofthis. invention Fig. 3A is a modified-formerthezvalve shown. in Fig- 2.

Eigl. 3Bi'is a. cross-sectional" View" offth'e modified valve taken: on; line, .3A'J-3A'I of: Fig; 3A.

Big-.1. illustrates the valve of this invention fitted with: a special charging and; testing: tool; the valve beings in; its: charging; position.

Fig. 5ishows-tlie-valve inthe. position toewhi'ch it is: set during theme-installation period, the unit being: charged.

Fig. 6 shows the: valve connected to both-sec;- tions: ofv the. refrigerating system and the: tool fitted-tempers the valve tozits operating: position;

Referring now" to the". drawings, Fig. 1- illusitratesdiagrammatica'lly onetype'of a'tWo-se'ction' refrigeration system;- which. will be used an exampleof' how? one fornr of the. valve of. this invention; may be used; As can'b'e' seen in the ii'giiite the compressor. and condenser are connected together aiconduit andboth unitsl'have terminali 'conduits 3'; eachof which is fitted with a special'valve" A made; in accordance with this invention. Likewise; the evaporator has a pair of conduits: 3,. eaclrfittied' with a valve A The two sections th usformed are assumed to have been previously charged in a manner.- which will be described presently; Valve is shown pro vided withi sealing caps I'- and? for shipment. A pair of connecting conduits .Ta, is shown" to illustrate diagrammatically how the two sections ofith-e refrigeration device are connectedup duringins't'allationr The description: which follows will not: only describe. the: detailed constructionofvalve A but?wi'll'include" a description ofhow the." valve is used in conjunction with thei'illuse trative refrigeration system shown in. Fig; l";

The? details; of? the: valve: are-best: illustrated Figs. 2:an'di-3i in whichit canbe seen thatrvalve A. includes a'valve: body' section: 41 containing: outlet: 5iandznipp1e 50: and a. second? passageway Giaeni'pple lia; Another bodysection 9 of valve A isthreaded into body section 4 by tli:readsr9iz.='v Body section -93 is internally threaded at Hi; and the body also, includes axbo-re: l- I joining: a smaller. bore I52; The-junction of these twoboresr formsai circulazr seat: l:3z., Ge'asket l4- and sealiiig -oap i; previously described; cooperate with. threads-2a; on bodysectioni ato-seal'rthatportion ofi'the valve: An important. feature: of the: valve in: thisinverrtiorrlies in the-construction ofrthe m-ovablezvalve' member." v. This? member is provided r withv an? externally:- threaded portion: Illa: which fits the internal threads I B of body section 9 of the'valvea The-.remainder of. valve member'Vfis: of smaller cliameterthankthe thneadsito provide fluid clear ance betweensitianditheinternal threads 'in 'valve:

55 body section 9.: longitudinal slot- I;5=is formedi in valve member V to provide clear passage for fluid from one end of the valve member to the other, despite the fact that the threaded portions l and Illa are in engagement within the valve. Valve member V is also formed with a chambered portion containing splines 16 for reception of a tool which will be described presently. As can be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the ends of valvemember V are formed with conical seats 13a and 8a, the function of which will become apparent as this description proceeds. I

The use of the valve A in the system will now be explained in connection withlthe' series of drawings the first of whichis Fig. 4.: In Fig. 4 conduit 3 is shown connected to nipple c of valve A this being a permanent connection to one 4 tions of valve A. For this reason the tool T shown in Fig. 4 can be removed without loss of fluid from the refrigerating section. Then, as shown in Fig. 5, the cap 2 may be replaced, which, with gasket l4, completely seals that portion of the valve from any dirt or foreign matter. When the two charged sections of the refrigerator are to be connected together, connections 311 shown in Fig. 1 and also in Fig. 5 are made with nipples la of valve body section 4 of valve A. Nothing happens at this time because the fluid in all sections is sealed in both sections by the engagement of their respective valve members V with valve.

of the two sections of the refrigerating system described previously. The other nipple la is before installation. To the left of the figure can be seenai special tool T which isused by the service personnel. This tool T is aspecial fitting to provide for charging the section, testing pressure and openingandclosing various ports of valve A... Tool T includes a longitudinally apertured body portion l1 and an attaching nut [8 which pulls flange l 9 of the tool into sealing engagement with gasket 14 and the end of body section 9 of'valve A. The tool may include a nipple which is provided with any standard meansfor the attachment of a test gage G. Nipple 29 may be omitted or plugged if desired. Another nipple 2lis provided with any conventional attaching means or threads to receive a line 22 connected to a refrigerant charging tank, or to a dehydrating apparatus if it is wished to dehydrate the system. An extending portion 23 ofthe tool body I! is threaded to receive a packing nut 24:1whichin conjunction with a packing sleeve 25 and packin 26 forms a packed, joint with the shank 2'! of a special wrench W which forms part of the toolT. Handle means 28 may be provided on the wrench at one end and at the other-end anexterlorally splined portion 29 is formed to cooperate with the internal splines H5 in valve member V; r

The charging operation for the section in ques-v tion may beperformed in the following manner: First,; the tool T is fitted to the valve body section 9.1 Care is taken to see that cap I is securely tightened onvalve A beforeline 212 from the charging tank is opened to the tool. Wrench W is then manipulated to turn valve member V and the valve is moved'to the right until conical seat l3a is well clear of seat l3 in the body section of valve A. Refrigerant can now flow from the tank into the section being charged by passing through the space surrounding the shank 21 of the tool, into the valve A itself, through slots l5 of valve member V, and on out chamber 5 and the conduit 3into the associated refrigerating section. The charging nipple 9 of the other valve in the section being charged may be open to the atmosphere or connected to a return line leading to the charging unit, this being standard practice in the art. When the proper amount of refrigerant has been introduced into the section, wrench W is turned still further until conical seat 8a'on valve member V engages seat 8 in the body of valve A.

Now-referring to Fig. 5, valve member V is shown with seat 811 engaging seat 8 in body section $4. 'of valve A. This effectively -seals the. charged passage 5 and tube 3 from. all other. per-7 the operationshown in Fig. 6 is performed. In

' this figura'connecting line at is shown attached to the valveand'tool T has been reapplied to valve A. Now referring back to Fig. 5, it can be seen that cap 2 has merely been acting as a dust cap and can be removed to apply tool T as in Fig. 6 without loss of fluid; Before tool T. can

be used in this operation, charging nipple 21 must be sealedoif from the. atmosphere by cap 2 la; by a valve, or by any other means. After tool T is applied and so sealed, wrench Wis manipulated and turned to drive valve member V back to its original position with'conical seat 13a engaging seat 13 in the body of valve A. As soonas this motion begins, the other conicalrseat 8a of valve member V is pulled away from seat 8 and fluid connection is made between connecting linef3a and. line '3 by means of chambers 5, ,6 and]. However, between the time when seat 3. is' disengaged and seat I3a is engaged, no fluid can units A, illustrated in Fig. 1, therebycompleting the installation of refrigerationsystem.v

It can now be seen that this'invention provides an improved valve which permits the various charging, testing, and connecting operations to be performed without :danger of fluid loss. and without requiring any expensive packed jointsin the valve itself; It has been found that packed joints, that is, joints where a tool or valve stem or other arrangementv must be mademovable within a packing seal, are subject to leakagein refrigerating and other systems. Furthermore, the packing in such joints gradually deteriQ ates, particularly if the stem or other arrangement is manipulated with any frequencyand bits of pack,

ing work their way into the refrigeration system.

to clog the expansionvalve. And 'finallyfsuch. packed joints have been found to be expensive to manufacture and difiicult to maintain. .Ontheother hand,the valve of this inventionperforrns all the functions of 'the previous valves which contained packed joints, and yet it requires no sealing gasket or packing whatsoever. Ajs'imple flat gasket M has been shown but this acts merely as a dust seal, and the system could beeperated and maintained fluid tight even if :that gasket were dispensed with. I; f'

The details of construction of the special-tool T have been explained in thisspecification mere-.- ly'as an aidtoan understanding of, one method whereby the valve of this invention may .ibei

utilized. The attaching means I a and a for the conduits can be made up in any manner, those illustrated, being merely examples of standard practice. Likewise the provision of a two-part valve body made up of sections 4 and 9 is merely illustrated as a form particularly adaptable to simple machining operations. The exact method whereby the valve. body portion oflvalve; A isbuilt up is not critical tov this invention. In. addition, it is not intended that the sample method of using the valve presented here limits the number and sequence of operations performed in any manner.

Figs. 3A and 3B illustrate a modification of the valve shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the difierence being only in the construction of the valve and not in its operation and use. In the modified form, valve body 9?) has internal threads in which threads are interrupted by one or more slots I511. The slot or slots l5a serve the same function as does the slot IS in valve member V shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Thus, in the modification here described the valve member VI may have uninterrupted threads, the slot l5a in valve body 9?) performing the function of the interruption. Another difference in the construction of Fig. 3A lies in formation of valve body 91) to include chamber la which chamber in Fig. 2 was formed in the valve body section 4. In the construction shown in Fig. 3A valve body section 4a is a cap member soldered or brazed to body section 91) at 41) and formed to provide the seat 8 for the conical portion 8a of valve member VI and the outlet aperture 5. The construction shown in Fig. 3A has the advantage that no milling operation on valve member V to provide a slot I5 is required. The slots lfia in body section 9a can be formed .by a broaching operation, the broach entering through chamber 1a in body section 9a.

The two forms described, namely that in Fig. 2 wherein the passage is formed in the valve member, and that in Fig. 3A wherein it is formed in the valve body, both have the same mode of operation and both embody the principles of the invention.

Having thus described the present invention so that others skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

A Valve c p s a valve body having two fluid conducting ports and valve seat means between said ports, said valve body including a third port, second valve seat means between said third port and said first two ports, a valve member threaded into said valve body and having portions formed to selectively engage said valve seats, the threads lying between the third port and the first two ports, said valve having passageway means formed to permit communication between said third port and said first two ports, said valve member being provided with driving means to receive a tool, and means on said valve body for attachment of a fluid conducting housing for said tool.

2. A valve comprising a valve body having two fluid conducting ports and valve seat means between said ports, said valve body including a third port, a valve member threaded in said valve body, passageway means formed in said valve whereby said third port may communicate with said first two ports, second valve seat means between said third port and said first two ports, said valve member having portions formed to selectively engage said: valve; seats, said valve member having driving means. formed. adjacent its outer end for reception of. an operating tool, and means on said valve body for'attachment of. a fluid conducting housing for said tool. 7

3. A pa'ckless valve. comprising a valve body having two fluid conducting. ports and valve seat means between said ports, said valve body in- .cluding a third port, a. valve member threaded in said valve body. passageway means formed in said valve whereby said third port may communicate with said first two ports, second valve seat means between said third port and said first two ports, said valve member having portions formed to selectively engage said valve seats, said valve member having driving means formed adjacent its outer end for reception of an operating tool, and means on said valve body for attachment oi a fluid conducting housing for said tool.

4. A valve comprising a valve body having two fluid conducting ports and valve seat means between said ports, said valve body including a third port, a valve member threaded in said valve body, passageway means formed in said valve whereby said third port may communicate with 'said first two ports, second valve seat means between said third port and said first two ports, said valve member having portions formed to selectively engage said valve seats, an outer end portion of said valve member being provided with driving means formed adjacent its outer end for reception of an operating tool, and means on said valve body surrounding said third port for attachment of a fluid conducting housing for said tool to said third port.

5. A packless valve comprising a valve body having two fluid conducting ports and valve seat means between said ports, said valve body including a third port, a valve member threaded in said valve body, passageway means formed in said valve whereby said third port may communicate with said first two ports, second valve seat means between said third port and said first two ports, said valve member having portions formed to selectively engage said valve seats, an outer end portion of said valve member being provided with driving means formed adjacent its outer end for reception of an operating tool, and means on said valve body surrounding said third port for attachment of a fluid conducting housing for said tool to said third port.

6. A valve comprising a valve body having two fluid conducting port-s and valve seat means between said ports, said valve body including a third port, a valve member threaded in said valve body, passageway means formed in said valve whereby said third port may communicate with said first two ports, second valve seat means between said third port and said first two ports, said valve member having seat portions on opposite sides of its threads to selectively engage said valve seats, said valve member having driving means formed adjacent its outer end for reception of an operating tool, and means on said valve body for attachment of a fluid conducting housing for said tool.

7. A valve comprising a valve body having two fluid conducting ports and valve seat means between said ports, said valve body including a third port, a valve member threaded in said valve body, passageway means formed in said valve whereby said third port may communicate with said first two ports, second valve seat means between said third port and said first two ports, said valve member having seat portions formed on opposite sides of its threads to selectively'ngage said valve seats, an outer'end portion of said valve member being provided with driving means formed adjacent, its outer end for reception of an operating tool, and means on said valve body surrounding said third port for attachment of a, fluid conducting housing for said tool to said third port. i 'i CHARLES H. 120mm;

, EREN E HE j The foliowing reierences areiof record iii the fileof this patenttfl I UNITED STATES PATENTS v r i Dat'e Nurdioer" Name 7 1397;591 Sartakoff Mar. 24, 1931 2,074,991 McKixmo'n Mar. 16, 1937 

